What’s the craic for the weekend: 05.01

Ready to enjoy the first weekend of the year? Find some inspiration here!

FESTIVALS

Dublin Bowie Festival

This weekend is the second Dublin Bowie Festival. The event takes place citywide throughout Dublin. It starts on Thursday January 5th and ends on Tuesday January 10th, the first anniversary of David Bowie‘s death. After last year’s success the Festival’s program has been greatly expanded to include more events and more venues to encapsulate the profound influence and inspiration that Bowie had on both popular culture and art. Topped by a heavyweight line–up of live music, the program also includes movie and documentary screenings, Q&A’s, debates and discussions, literary events, fashion, fine art, merch markets, a quiz, a Festival club, illustrations, karaoke, DJ’s and much much more.

The venues include Vicar St, The George, Whelans, The Grand Social, The Workmans, The Sugar Club, The Mercantile Hotel, The Opium Rooms, The Liquor Rooms and many other creative spaces, all coming together to pay respects to one of the most important figures in our cultural history, an artist who illuminated popular culture in a way that is unlikely to be repeated. Bowie was first and foremost an entertainer but he also intrigued and provoked byaccompanying his music with paintings, literature, film, fashion and stage.

First Fortnight Festival 2017

First Fortnight is a charity-based organisation with the express aim of challenging mental health prejudice through the creative arts. They believe the arts allow us to create a space where people can talk about mental health issues in a non-scripted manner. Once that conversation has begun, they hope this will then help to change people’s perceptions about an issue that affects us all, with one in four of us set to experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives. With that in mind, they hope to make the First Fortnight of each year synonymous with mental health awareness, challenging prejudice and ending stigma.

Founded in 2009, First Fortnight staged its first two-week arts festival in 2012. The charity has since become a mental health service provider with the establishment in 2013 of the First Fortnight Centre for Creative Therapies. The centre currently employs two psychotherapists providing art-therapy for individuals experiencing homelessness and mental illness in Dublin.

MUSIC

Avenged Sevenfold & Disturbed Live at 3arena

This Saturday the bands Avenged Sevenfold and Disturbed will be performing at 3Arena.

With several awards under their belt, including “Best International band” and “Rock song of the year”, Hail to The King is the latest album from Avenged Sevenfold following up their 5th studio album,Nightmare. Nightmare was the band’s most successfulalbum to date;it’s debut on the Billboard album chart took the number one spot and spawned three number one hit-singles: “Nightmare”, “So Far Away” and “Welcome To The Family”.

In 2015, after a four-year hiatus, Grammy Award-nominated, multi-platinum hard rock titans Disturbed released their new album entitled Immortalized.

Since Disturbed formed in Chicago in 1996 they have sold 12 million albums globally, scored nine number one singles at Active Rock Radio, and had four consecutive albums debut at number one on the Billboard Top 200; a feat shared only with Metallica and Dave Matthews Band.

60’s Bowie & 70’s Bowie

Get ready for a thrilling double bill featuring two fantastic Bowie tribute bands. The London Boys, a 5 piece combo that will take on Bowie’s 60’s back catalogue for a world premiere exclusive. From 1963’s Liza Jane (when he was just plain David Jones) through to 1969’s breakthrough Space Oddity album, Bowie’s 60’s canon sees the evolution of the iconic superstar from his R&B roots through to his mid 60’s Anthony Newley vaudeville period and finally into the Beckenham Arts era when Major Tom floated in a most peculiar way into our hearts and minds. Opening proceedings will be Heroes From Mars, a 4 piece from Dublin who will be rocking out to Bowie’s guitar driven 70’s classics.

LET IT BE-ATLES

The Irish tribute to The Beatles, LET IT BE-ATLES, will be playing on Saturday night. If you like The Beatles you should go down to Gypsy Rose Rock and Blues Bar to celebrate one of the greatest bands of all time with these guys.

You’ll also get to enjoy their special guest, Andrew Quinlan, who will be opening the show.

Saturday (07.01): from 8:00 pm

Admission: €5

Gypsy Rose Rock and Blues Bar – 5 Aston Quay, Dublin 2

The Bowie Ball featuring The Salty Dog Allstars and more

The band of Salty Dog pirates recreate their lauded Electric Picnic tribute to the Thin White Duke as they bring their rum soaked instruments to the Sugar Club for a raucous night of no holds barred wham bam thank you Mam rock‘n’roll. Expect a dynamic mix of all the glam classics with some soulful funky struts throughout the voyage. Later on in the night DJs Tony B and friends will be playing all things DB to keep you dancing till the early hours.

I Heart Bowie – At Opium Rooms

Following their sold out show in Whelans last January, the I Heart crew have been asked by the Dublin Bowie Festival to do it all over again in honour of the great man. The same amazing house band will assemble next door at the Opium Rooms and, alongside the usual array of incredible guest singers, blow the roof off the place in tribute to our hero David Bowie.

All proceeds from the gig will be donated to the Home Sweet Home project which has inspired us all with their fantastic work over at the Apollo House.

A Secret Life – Bowie At The Bowery

A Secret Life plays tales of turmoil, tyranny and emancipation – the Sounds & Vision of David Bowie. The essence of Bowie’s work was as a voice for freedom and expression; for the voiceless, the exploited and the oppressed and was liberally sprinkled with songs of celebration, wit, charm and magic. A Secret Life, an 8 piece collective based in Wexford, use stunning visuals while performing some of Bowie’s more obscure album tracks along with a smattering of classics from Man Who Sold The World to Lazarus. Definitely one for the fans!

Sunday (08.01): 9:00 pm –11:00 pm

Free admission

The Bowery – 196 Rathmines Rd Lower, Dublin 6

TO DANCE

David August at District 8

If you want to celebrate the first weekend of the year dancing your socks off, check this out! David August will be playing the best of his house music at District 8 this Saturday for what is expected to be a great night.

This German-Italian DJ had his first introduction to music at the age of five by piano lessons. At the age of 16 he devoted himself to electronic music and at the age of 17 he followed his first release with a remix for Oliver Koletzki. His knowledge of music production and his passion for soulful music gets him to combine old electronic classics with the freshest releases in tech-house, house and techno creating a soulful symbiosis that always triumphs on the dance floor.

Pear presents: Mad Rey (D.KO Records) – At Wigwam

This is another option if you want to get out and dance this Saturday. D.KO Records big gun Mad Rey will be at the Wigwam basement for his Irish debut! Mad Rey aka Quentin Leroy has been championing the new strain of deep French house that started out with the likes of Braddock and Bangalter, took a detour through a certain Monsieur G in the mid 2000s and has now arrived in the current day sounding as fresh and funky as house has ever been.

Dan Stritch & Friends – Free Party at Button Factory

The Button Factory is kicking off 2017 with a free party featuringDan Stritch & Friends

Dan Stritch has quickly earned a reputation as one of the foremost up and coming talents in the Irish music scene. This Dublin based producer wasted no time announcing himself as a purveyor of quality tech house cuts. Stritch also leads the line for RTE Pulse as one of the national broadcasters new radio talents.

Mind Against at Opium Rooms

The Opium Rooms are starting 2017 off with two techo kingpins who share the same surname. The Fognini boys, better known as Mind Against, have been at the top of their game for the past few years, finding themselves in the top 50 RA poll for 2016.

Etching a musical partnership that draws from the combined roots of house and techno, Mind Against are the Italian native but Berlin-based project of Alessandro and Federico Fognini. They carved a path for themselves with a series of three EP’s on life and death. Their debut album Atlant, their follow up Avalon and their latest “Strange Days” were let loose to critical acclaim.

Comment “Mind Against at Opium Rooms ” on the Facebook event page, click “going” and tag a friend for you both to be added to the concession list on the night.

Opium Rooms – 26 Wexford Street, Dublin

Sense January Sale – Free Entry

To celebrate the first Saturday night of 2017 Sense are throwing a free party with heaps of local DJs at the Button Factory. The Sense’s resident DJs plus more TBA will be playing house and techno music to keep you dancing for the whole night.

There will also be drinks deals on the night of the event.

Saturday (07.01): from 11:00 pm

Comment “FREE”on the Facebook event wall & tag a friend to get your name on the free entry list. Free list closes at midnight sharp.

Button Factory – Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2

CULTURE

Labyrinth / The Man Who Fell To Earth / David Bowie Is

As part of the Dublin Bowie Festival, Light House Cinema will host a number of screenings celebrating the magnificent Man Of Word / Man Of Music in January 2017.

OutStraight: Spoken Word & Graffiti Jam at The Bernard Shaw

OutStraight bring some warm spoken word and live graffiti vibes to the Bernard Shaw as part of the First Fortnight festival.

On top of their usual live poetry and Graff masterclass, they’ll be doing some graffiti workshops as well writing personalised poems for people on typewriters. A lovely gift for that special someone you forget about over Christmas.

OutStraight is a concept-based show combining spoken word theatre with visual art graffiti. The poets share stories on urban experiences and youth culture, bringing to light social and economic situations that the youth of our day face, including gentrification and Ireland’s ‘Session Culture’. This, all set to graffiti themed backgrounds, brings the soul of high-rise flats and concrete jungles to people wherever the location.

An Evening with Enda Walsh

In what’s sure to be one of the highlights of the Dublin Bowie Festival The Sugar Club is having playwright Enda Walsh as guest of honour to discuss his insights on working with Bowie as co-writer of the successful Broadway show Lazarus. Walsh was, of course, one of the last people to work with Bowie and will provide a fascinating insight into Bowie’s working methods and his more personal side.

They’ll also be screening some original Bowie-themed short movies on the night.

Thursday (05.01): 7:30 pm – 11:30 pm

Tickets: €14

The Sugar Club – 8 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2

TO EAT

The Dead Dinner (a charity event)

The Dead is the final short story in the James Joyce collection of short stories titled “Dubliners”. The story is set at a dinner party on the 6th of January, 1904, (which is The Feast of the Epiphany, sometimes known as Little Christmas), at 15 Ushers Island, which is just down the road from Arthur’s Pub.

On Friday, Arthur’s Pub are hosting a very special charity event, THE DEAD DINNER.

They will start by showing the first part of John Huston’s classic film adaptation of the story, The Dead, starring Angelica Huston, and the late Donal McCann. They will then have their own Epiphany Dinner, which will be the exact meal as detailed in the short story.

After dinner, they’ll show the second and final part of the film. When it is over, they’ll have some musical entertainment of the era. Like at any good dinner party, they encourage the guests to contribute their own party piece as part of the fun.

All proceeds from the evening will be donated to The Mendicity Institution, which is one of the oldest charities in Dublin, and who provide meals for the poor from their premises in Island Street, almost directly behind 15 Ushers Island.

Period Dress strongly encouraged.

Friday (06.01): 7:30 pm

Tickets: €50 (inclusive of the film, the 3 course meal, wine for the evening and the musical entertainment) Book here